Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism, also known as Mazdayasna and Behdin, is an Iranian religion. One of the world's oldest organized faiths, it is based on the teachings of the Avesta and the Iranian prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic-style ontology; meaning that the religion's eschatology predicts the ultimate triumph of good over evil. Zoroastrians exalt an uncreated and benevolent deity of wisdom, commonly referred to as "Ahura Mazda" (Avestan: 𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬭𐬋 𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬛𐬃), as the universe's supreme being; opposed to Ahura Mazda is "Angra Mainyu" (𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎), who is personified as a destructive spirit and the adversary of all things good. Historically, the unique features of Zoroastrianism, such as monotheism, messianism, belief in free will and judgement after death, conception of heaven, hell, angels, and demons, among other concepts, may have influenced other religious and philosophical systems, including the Abrahamic religions and Gnosticism, Northern Buddhism, and Greek philosophy.

With possible roots dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE—the Avestan period—the Zoroastrian religion enters recorded history around the middle of the 6th century BCE. For more than a millennium (i.e., between c. 600 BCE and 650 CE), it served as the official religion of the ancient Iranian empires, beginning roughly around the time of the Achaemenid Empire and formally coming to an end with the Muslim conquest of Persia. The fall of the Sasanian Empire and the subsequent persecution of Zoroastrians by the early Muslims culminated in the decline of the religion as a whole. During this time, many Zoroastrians fled to the Indian subcontinent, where they were granted refuge by various kings. Recent estimates place the world's current Zoroastrian population at upwards of 110,000–120,000 people, with the majority of this figure residing in India, Iran, and North America; their number has been thought to be declining.

The most important texts of Zoroastrianism are those contained within the Avesta, which includes the Gathas—the central writings that are thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself, serving as sacred hymns within Zoroastrian liturgy, known as the Yasna. Zoroastrianism and its holy book (The Avesta and its Commentary Known as Zand) are known to have changed over the centuries. The Avesta itself being "composed at different times, providing a series of snapshots of the religion that allow historians to see how it changed over time". Zoroaster's religious philosophy divided the early Iranian gods of Proto-Indo-Iranian paganism into emanations of the natural world, known as ahuras and daevas, the latter of which were not considered to be worthy of worship. Zoroaster proclaimed that Ahura Mazda was the supreme creator; the creative and sustaining force of the universe, and that human beings are given a choice between supporting Ahura Mazda or not, making them ultimately responsible for their fate. Though Ahura Mazda has no equal contesting force, Angra Mainyu, whose negative forces are born from Aka Manah (evil thought), is considered to be every Zoroastrian's main adversarial force, standing against "Spenta Mainyu" (creative spirit/mentality). Angra Mainyu was further developed by Middle Persian literature into Ahriman (𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩), advancing him to be Ahura Mazda's direct adversary.

Additionally, the life force that originates from Ahura Mazda, known as Asha (truth, cosmic order), stands in opposition to Druj (falsehood, deceit). Ahura Mazda works in gētīg (the visible material realm) and mēnōg (the invisible spiritual and mental realm) through the seven (or six, when excluding Spenta Mainyu) Amesha Spentas.